Written by

Free Press Staff Writer

An emerging contest for Burlington City Council in that vibrant and sometimes raucous neighborhood just might be.

It sounds odd, at first: a campaign between an established Progressive and a progressive Democrat.

The former, Jane Knodell, 58, is a University of Vermont economics professor and a seasoned veteran on the council.

Her rival, Emily Lee, 31, is a vice president at investment bank firm Merrill Lynch — and has distinguished herself as an effective grassroots organizer.

The winner in March will fill the seat held by Democratic Councilor Bram Kranichfeld, who has opted not to run for re-election .

Ward 2 comprises the center of the Old North End. Flaring north from Main Street to the Intervale, it’s home to long-established Vermonters, young-professional homesteaders, college students, and Burlington’s highest concentration of New Americans.

Lee and Knodell both carry impressive, money-smart credentials. Both claim to embody the preparedness, temperament and drive to represent their neighbors at City Hall.

In alphabetical order, the candidates:

Both sides now

Earlier this week, Knodell described herself as “a Peter-Clavelle Progressive,” hearkening back to the mayor that preceded Progressive Bob Kiss.

She said she’s learned to appreciate overlap in partisan agendas: “I’ve always been someone who works well across party lines.”

Ward 2’s other councilor, Max Tracy, is a Progressive, and serves as Knodell’s campaign manager. Their respective strengths complement each other, she said: “Max and I will be an excellent team.”

At a time when about half the city councilors have two years or less experience, she adds, her tenure would be an advantage to all wards, not just her own.

Her bottom-line agenda in Ward 2 is quality of life: promoting home ownership, small businesses and public safety.

Knodell said her familiarity with UVM (she was Provost until this year; she lives in a student-rich ward) would benefit ongoing town-gown negotiations.

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“I see it from both sides,” Knodell said. “I understand the noise and housing issues. And I know that higher education is an important part of our economic base, a stabilizing force.”

Up and at 'em

Lee has straddled other divides. Her success in business, she said, has been hard-won and hands-on.

“I grew up on food stamps; my whole childhood was a struggle for money,” Lee said. “I paid my way through UVM by working nights, on Pell Grants and with credit cards.

“I’m proud of my job,” she continued. “Economics has never been on a theoretical level for me. It’s always been personal.”

Politics? Lee is a de-facto Democrat: she inherited the affiliation from her parents and grandparents.

Lee continued: “I’ve also looked at the Progressive platform, and those are my values, too. In fact, the Progressives in Burlington asked me to run for state legislature last fall.”

Like Knodell, Lee says she’d like to focus on quality-of-life issues in Ward 2. Also like her rival, she wants to include UVM in that discussion.

Last year, Lee took her neighbors’ concerns about students’ incivility to Neighborhood Planning Assemblies, to municipal offices and to City Council — which overturned a long-standing zoning exemption that had allowed unlimited residency in downtown housing units.

Lee said she gets too much credit for what was always a group effort.

“We decided that we couldn’t wait around for other people to solve our problems for us,” she added. “I just have a loud, clear voice.”